


All Over Again

by Rehearsal_Dweller



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-14
Updated: 2012-07-21
Packaged: 2017-11-09 23:25:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/459667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rehearsal_Dweller/pseuds/Rehearsal_Dweller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Torchwood employees are known for dying young, and just because they lose people doesn't mean their work is done.<br/>In  2012, Jack Harkness returned to Cardiff and gathered a new team - Caleb Flynn, Dr Maria Carson, and Alex [surname unknown] - and returned to the daily job of saving the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Old Times

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first project that I'm posting here, so I hope it's well-received.  
> The plan is to write this as a whole new "season" of Torchwood, kicked off by a two-part Doctor Who "episode".  
> Without further ado, here we go!

A Weevil runs through Cardiff, chased by a foggy-eyed brunette with a streak of TARDIS blue in her curly hair.

She pauses, listening carefully. Then, two streets over, the TARDIS starts to materialize. The young woman completely changes directions and runs toward the sound.

When she reaches it, she reaches out and touches the wood of the door. “Hello, Tara.”

The door opens. “Who are you?” asks Clara.

“I used to be you,” the woman replies. She’s American, although her accent is difficult to place.

“Alex!” says the Doctor, surprised.

_Cuts to the theme sequence, complete with three extra names._

“New voice,” observes Alex, “presumably with a new face to go with it. When’d you regenerate?”

“Not long after I saw you last,” the Doctor tells her.

“And then you picked up a new chick,” Alex points out, nodding to Clara.

“Not right away – I travelled with the Ponds for a while first,” corrects the Doctor.

Alex nods. “Right, I know them. Rory the Roman and Amy, the girl who waited. I visit them every other Thursday. We have tea and eat banana bread. It’s quite fun. When’s this one joining the club?”

“Oh, shut up,” the Doctor replies.

“C’mon, then,” says Alex. “Jack’ll want to see you.”

“I thought he’d left Cardiff,” the Doctor says.

“He came back,” answers Alex. “Brought me with ‘im. Rebuilt the Hub, gathered a new team.” She touches a button on the earpiece she’s wearing. “Hey, Maria. Would you tell Caleb he’s on his own for this one? I’ve picked up an old friend, we’re going straight back to the Hub. … Yes, I know he’s going to kill me. … Well, I’ll just hide behind Jack, won’t I? … No, I won’t tell you. … Shut up, I’ll see you then.” Then she grabs the Doctor’s hand and leads him (and Clara) to the tourist centre that conceals the main entrance to the Torchwood Hub.

Alex pauses and turns around. “Welcome to Torchwood Three.” She waves her hand across a scanner and then takes a step backwards before turning and walking confidently into the Hub.

“Tara, you can’t just bring people into the Hub!” a redhead down below calls. “What part of ‘top secret’ is so foreign to you?”

“Everyone in Cardiff _knows_ about Torchwood,” quips Alex. “Some secret.”

“You still can’t go bringing civilians in here,” the redhead responds.

Alex chuckles. “Go read up on your Torchwood history, Maria. This is the Doctor, and…” she pauses. “Sorry, love, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Clara,” supplies Clara.

“And Clara, his current companion!” finishes Alex. She winks at Clara. “We’ll have to have a chat later, you and I.”

“Caleb’s going to shoot you when he gets back,” Maria tells her. Alex nods.

“Who’s Caleb?” asks Clara.

“Teammate,” Alex answers. “I abandoned him on a Weevil hunt.” She smirks. “He deserves it, though.” She slides down the railing of the stairs, landing not quite gracefully but without stumbling in front of Maria. “Is Jack around?”

“Office,” Maria replies.

Alex looks up at the glass door of Jack’s office. She waves for the Doctor and Clara to join her at the bottom of the stairs. They do so, and Alex smiles. “Ja-ack! I brought friends!”

“Tara, I thought I told you to stop seducing the pizza boys,” Jack replies, stepping out of his office. “We don’t have the Retcon budget for it.”

Alex rolls her eyes. “That was _one time_.”

Jack laughs and walks down the stairs. “Captain Jack Harkness,” he greets the newcomers. “And who are –“

“Oh, stop it,” the Doctor interrupts, his stern tone undermined somewhat by the light-hearted smile on his face.

“Hey, Doc,” Jack says with a grin. “Long time no see.”

The Doctor nods. “It _has_ been a while, hasn’t it?”

“I almost didn’t recognize you,” says Jack.

Before he can make another comment about the Doctor’s new-to-Jack-and-Alex face or his pretty new companion, a blond 25-year-old stomps into the Hub.

“Harkness!” he shouts angrily.

Alex takes a half step closer to Jack. Then she chuckles. “How’d your solo-Weevil hunt go, Caleb?”

“I’m going to _murder_ you,” Caleb replies.

“Ah-ah-ah,” responds Alex playfully, looking up at him with now-clear dark brown eyes. “Not in front of the guests.”

Caleb notices the Doctor and Clara for the first time. “Who the hell are they?”

“Old friend and his new friend, to be introduced later,” Alex answers easily. “ _How’d the hunt go?”_

“It got away,” Caleb admits.

“Any injuries?” asks Maria.

Caleb shakes his head. Alex sighs, sounding almost disappointed (but looking relieved at the same time). The Doctor’s eyes flick between the members of the team as he observes the group’s dynamic, intrigued.

“Not even a scratch?” Alex inquires, disappointment evident in her voice.

Caleb opens his mouth to respond, but Jack cuts him off. “Doc, why don’t you come up to my office? We can catch up.”

“We’re here for a _reason_ , Jack,” the Doctor chides.

“You said we had a lot of time to kill,” Clara points out. “We’re just refuelling. Go catch up with your friend.”

“And what will you do?” asks the Doctor.

Alex grins. “Clara and I are gonna have a chat. Swap stories and the like, you know.”

“That sounds dangerous,” the Doctor comments.

Clara laughs and Alex says, “No worries, Doc. I won’t tell her anything too embarrassing about you. Can’t guarantee the same from Clara, though.”  The Doctor doesn’t look remotely relieved, and Clara’s renewed giggles don’t help. Alex grabs Clara’s hand and leads her back up the stairs. “C’mon, beautiful, let’s let the boys talk. ...oh god, I sound like Jack.” She pauses and turns back toward the Doctor. “I love the bowtie, by the way.”

And with that, the girls are gone.

Caleb and Maria each return to their workstation and at least pretend to work. The Doctor and Jack walk up to Jack’s office.

“How’d Allie end up working for Torchwood, Jack?” the Doctor asks.

Jack is silent for a moment, before saying, “You weren’t there.”

_\--_

Jack was alone in his office.

“Jack? Jack! Jack, can you hear me?” Alex’s voice called frantically.

“Allie?” responded Jack, looking around.

“Oh thank Hermes,” Alex said.

“Where are you?” asked Jack.

“I – I don’t know. I’m just glad I could get to you,” she replied.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

“I was grabbed off the street two days ago. Don’t know who by, but it’s … it’s weird. My memories are all funny, like something’s missing. Please come find me, Jack. Please.”

“Of course.”

He stood up and walked out of his office. “We’ve got a rescue mission to go on.”

_The scene jumps to Jack picking the lock on a cell door._

“Jack,” Alex said. “Please tell me that’s you, Jack.”

“It’s me, Allie. Don’t worry,” replied Jack calmingly. “You’re safe.”

He opened the door and she ran to him and threw her arms around him. “I’m not usually much of a hugger, but I am _so_ glad to hear you, Jack.”

\--

“She moved in with me, picked the new name, and joined Torchwood after that,” Jack finishes. “What about you? How’d you find Clara?”

“It involved running,” answers the Doctor.

“It _always_ involves running,” replies Jack, rolling his eyes.

The Doctor launches into the story.

\--

“Jack’s a terrible influence on me,” Alex mutters. “I’m doing that flirting-is-the-same-as-normal-talking thing he always does. I’m terribly sorry.”

“You know, you haven’t even really introduced yourself,” Clara comments as the two women wander around.

Alex stops. “I haven’t, have I?” She holds out her hand. “Name’s Tara Harkness, except to Doc and Jack. And you, I suppose. You ought to call me Alex.” 

“Why do you use the pseudonym?” asks Clara.

“After the third abduction attempt, which I suppose I shouldn’t call an attempt as it was in fact _successful_ , I changed my name and came here,” Alex answers.

They keep walking.

“What’d you mean when you said you used to be me?” Clara inquires.

“Just what I said. I travelled with the Doctor for ‘bout a year and a half - no, more like two - back in ... well, I guess it was late 2007, linearly speaking. You know, everything gets a bit wibbly, time-wise,” explains Alex. “But he’s never mentioned me to you.” It’s a statement. There is no question in her mind that the Doctor’s latest companion has never even heard her name. At best, she might have seen the list on the refrigerator. “Jack either, I reckon, or you’d have known better how to react to the flirting.”

Clara shakes her head. “Not once.”

Alex shrugs. “That’s alright. If he spent too much time dwelling on the past, it’d get to him. I mean, I was almost a couldn’t-save – along with most people who’ve travelled with him – but even the good old times ... even that’d be painful to dwell on.”

“What? Why the good times, too?”

“Because they’re over.”

They walk some more.

“Hey, so, when you were travelling with him, did he talk to the TARDIS?” Clara asks.

Alex laughs. “Yeah. I did, too, though. So I guess I can’t judge.” Clara looks surprised. Alex continues, “Well, I had to get my name from somewhere, hmm? Harkness is Jack’s, ‘cause I’m posing as his kid sister, but I got Tara from the TARDIS. I gave the name to her as a nickname ages ago.”

“Really?” responds Clara with a laugh.

“Really,” Alex confirms. “So is my list still up on the fridge? You know, the list of microwave restrictions?”

Clara laughs some more. “That’s _yours_?”

Alex nods, and laughs as well. “I swear, I wasn’t going to microwave any gerbils.”

“How did that come up, then?”

“The Doctor picked up a box of stray gerbils one day and put it on the list pre-emptively.”

“Where in all of space-time did he find a box of _stray gerbils?”_

“He’s the Doctor! He could find stuff like that no matter where or when he was!”

They both start laughing hysterically. Alex actually doubles over, clutching her sides. Then her laughter stops abruptly. When she looks up at Clara, her eyes are milky white again. She removes her right hand from her left side, and it’s bloody.

“What happened?” Clara asks.

“I – I’m not sure,” gasps Alex. “I got hurt a couple of weeks ago, but it’s healed. It shouldn’t – _ow.”_

“Come on, let’s go back down to the others,” Clara says comfortingly. “Is there a doctor on your team? A medical one, you know. Our Doctor’s rubbish at stuff like this, even though he denies it.”

“Maria,” Alex answers.

She lets Clara walk her back into the Hub. “Maria! Tara needs help! We were laughing at the Doctor and she must’ve split her stitches or something, a recent wound reopened.”

“Here’s the thing, Clara,” responds Maria, looking suspicious, “I haven’t stitched Tara up in over three months.”

“That’s the problem,” Alex tells her. “You _didn’t_ stitch me up. Two weeks ago, I was stabbed. But it was all healed – no need for stitches or anything. This isn’t _possible.”_

“What’s impossible?” asks the Doctor, bouncing out of Jack’s office. “I love impossible things.” He glances at Jack. “Well... You know.”

Alex shoots him a look. “Doc, really? Is today going to be one of _those_ days?”

“Allie, what happened?” Jack says before the Doctor can respond.

“Good _lord_ , Jack, **we’re at work**!” responds Alex. “Even Clara’s more on top of this than you, and I _live with you_!”

“Tara, then,” Jack amends. “The question still stands.”

“Remember that day two weeks ago when we were on a mission? I got stabbed and you yelled at me for 20 minutes for not being careful enough?” Jack nods. “Well, that’s the last time I was injured like this.”

“But that was healed before I’d even finished lecturing,” Jack replies, confused.

“That, Jacky-boy, is my point,” Alex agrees.

“ _How?_ ” Maria and the Doctor ask in unison.

“Nanogenes,” the not-Harknesses respond simultaneously.

“That’s not a word,” Caleb comments.

“Is so,” snaps Alex. “They’re tiny robots that can repair injuries at a cellular level. It was like I’d never gotten hurt, hence _impossible._ ”

\--

It isn’t until Caleb comes back from picking up dinner with his head injury from last Tuesday and Clara’s elbow miraculously scrapes itself (just like it had been four days previously when they’d been running from that angry mob) that they realize what’s going on.

Someone or something is bringing back old injuries. The Doctor suggests that this is a clever weapon which uses previous injuries against you instead of creating new ones.

Alex and Clara walk together down one of Cardiff’s streets, trying to track whatever alien had found its way into town this time. Alex’s sight had returned by now, which she was grateful for.

Someone both familiar and unfamiliar steps out of the shadows.

“Fancy seeing you here, Xandra,” he says.

It’s Jack, but Alex knows it’s not. He’s younger – much, much younger – and he isn’t yet going by that name. He’s dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, because when Jack was a Time Agent, he dressed for the times. The goal was to blend in. Ironically, it was what made him stick out.

“You promised you’d never come here,” Alex replies.

“Couldn’t help it,” he says with a shrug. “Couldn’t exactly just say ‘no’ to a mission, could I?”

“The Agency would’ve understood, Dmitri. Your job is to protect timelines, and you know full well that coming here puts you in serious risk of _screwing something up_ ,” Alex scolds. “Where’s –“

“Wait a minute,” interrupts Clara. “What the hell is going on? Why are you talking to Jack like that?”

“He’s not Jack,” responds Alex unhelpfully.

“...What?” Clara says.

“He will be, but he isn’t yet. This is time travel, beautiful, get used to it,” Alex explains. She looks back at Dmitri. “Where’s Kieran? I don’t want him running into Jack, that’d get confusing.”

“We split up. You know there’s a Gaarnek around? That’s what we’re after,” Dmitri tells her.

“Alien that can bring back old injuries as a substitute for a weapon?” Clara guesses.

“Precisely,” answers Dmitri.

“Well, we’re already on its case, so why don’t you grab Kieran and _get the hell out of this town,_ ” Alex says. She sounds close to injuring him.

He grabs her arm and pulls her close. “What, you’ve forgotten so soon how much fun I can be?”

“Look, love, I really don’t –“ Alex begins. Dmitri shuts her up by pressing his lips to hers. She pushes him away (a first). “Dmitri, when are we? I should’ve asked right away, but... anyway I need to know. How long ago did you meet me?”

“Almost two years,” he answers instantly.

Alex nods. “So this’ll probably be the last time we see each other for a while.”

“How do you know?” says Clara.

“Two years,” Alex replies. “Jack’s missing two years. It’s what makes him go rogue and leave the Agency. I know for a fact that Dmitri here has run into a _ridiculous_ number of things from the Jack Harkness and beyond time in the last two years, myself included. He and I have run into each other –“

“Twelve times in two years,” Dmitri supplies. “And she claims it’s accidental every time.”

“Yeah, well...” mumbles Alex. She kisses him briefly. “Not a word to Jack, Clara.”

“He doesn’t _know?”_

Alex laughs. “I sure hope not.”

Kieran, whose hair had apparently recently been dyed green, runs up to them. “Dmitri! I just saw you, but it wasn’t you! He was dressed in World War II era clothes and he looked really confused to see me and I _think_ we might have a problem.”

“No kidding,” agrees Alex. “Did he follow you?”

“Xandra, what are you doing here?” Kieran asks, completely distracted.

“Focus, Kieran. I live here, this is when I’m from. Now tell me – did he –“ Alex responds.

“Wait a minute,” Jack calls, chasing after Kieran.

“...follow you,” finishes Alex quietly. She sighs. “I told you not to come here, Dmitri. And I warned you not to let him, Kieran.”

“Allie, what’s going on?” Jack asks.

Alex looks from Dmitri to Jack and then back again. “This could take a while.”

Jack calls everyone back to the Hub, directing a ‘this had better be good’ at Alex. Their search for the Gaarnek is momentarily forgotten.

Once they’re all gathered, (after a little bit – well, a lot bit – of confusion on Maria and Caleb’s parts) Alex begins her story.

\--

She was in a bar. Jack and the Doctor – the last one – had wandered off to explore and left her alone in the TARDIS. She’d woken up and decided to do some exploring on her own.

In this case, ‘exploring’ meant walking into a bar and ordering a drink.

“Hello,” greeted a familiar voice.

“I thought you were with –“ Alex began to reply, then she froze. “What the hell?”

“Woah,” he responded. “Neat trick with the eyes.”

“Not a trick,” mumbled Alex. “Can’t see.”

“Well you don’t really need to,” he said. “I’m Dmitri. And you are?”

Alex smiled. _Why not have a little fun?_ “My name’s Xandra. Nice to meet you.”

\--

“Why Xandra?” interrupts Caleb.

“Timelines, idiot,” Alex responds. “Had to be careful, because at that point I didn’t know he wouldn’t remember. Now shut up and let me tell the story.”

\--

They talked for a while, but before too long, Alex had to leave. She saw the Doctor walk into the bar.

“Thank Hermes, he left Jack outside,” Alex muttered.

“Who?” responded Dmitri.

She gestured toward the Doctor. “Pinstripes over there. He’s that ... older brother that I told you about. He was running around with our friend Jack for most of the day. I don’t think I’d trust him ‘round here, though. Best he stays outside.”

“I guess this means you’ll be going, then,” Dmitri said.

Alex nodded. “I guess so, yeah. It was nice meeting you.”

Dmitri smiled. “Same to you.”

“’Bye, Dmitri. I’ll be seeing you,” Alex said. Then she got up and ran over to the Doctor. “Hey Doc. How was your day out with Jack?”

\--

The next time she saw Dmitri was the day she met Kieran. It was about 200 years earlier on another planet.

 _Not that that’s really the surprising bit_ , Alex mused as she ran for her life. _It’s more the fact that we’ve seen each other again at all, considering the all-of-time-and-space bit._

“So, what brings you here?” Dmitri greeted her.

“The TARDIS,” Alex replied, catching her breath.

“ _What_?” Dmitri and his partner said in unison.

“TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimensions in Space,” clarified Alex. She grabbed both of their hands and dragged them after her. “Can’t stop running. Could get hurt. Wouldn’t want that, would we? I’m Xandra, by the way.” This last part was directed at the young man holding her left hand. “You must be Kieran – Dmitri told me about you last time we met. I like your hair.”

Kieran ran his free hand through his bright pink hair. “Thanks. What are we running from?”

“When I find out, I’ll tell you,” answered Alex. “I got separated from my, er, team right before Doc could tell me what they are.”

“Ooh, I love it when that happens,” said Kieran, genuinely excited. “The not knowing is the best part.”

“I like you,” Alex commented. “Keep this one, Dmitri. He’s great.”

\--

“Skip the third and fourth times,” Dmitri requests.

Alex nods. “Yeah, nothing too interesting happened outside of them being out of order.”

“So _he_ was who you ran off to meet all those times?” asks the Doctor.

“What, did you think you and River were the only people who are allowed to have an out of order relationship?” Clara replies.

“Can I tell the next one?” Kieran asks. “I promise I’ll leave out the –“

“Sure,” interrupt Dmitri and Alex together.

\--

Xandra – or Alex, or Tara, or whatever – burst into Kieran and Dmitri’s apartment one afternoon. Dmitri was out shopping for groceries or something like that, but Kieran was home. He had _just_ finished changing his hair colour again – lavender this time – and he actually looked presentable.

“Hello, Kieran,” she greeted. She kissed him on the cheek. “How’ve you been?”

“Dmitri’s out,” Kieran pointed out.

“Some greeting,” responded Xandra. “Most people start with a ‘Hello, how’re you, Sweetheart?’ to which I’m sure I’d reply ‘Great! And you, Buttercup?’”

Kieran rolled his eyes. “Hello. How’re you, Sweetheart?”

“Great!” Xandra replied. “And you, Buttercup?”

“I’m pretty good, too,” said Kieran. They stared at each other seriously for a moment, and then they burst out laughing.

“So, where _is_ Dmitri?” asked Xandra.

“Doesn’t much matter _where_ ,” Kieran pointed out. “He’ll be back soon, though.”

“That’s good. I’m only in this time and place for like a day,” Xandra said. “It would _really_ suck if he was out of town or off planet or on some random solo mission or working with John Hart again or –“

“How do you even know who that is?” Kieran interrupted.

“John Hart? Jack told me. He used to be Dmitri’s partner, right?” replied Xandra.

Kieran nodded slowly. “Who is this Jack person, and how does _he_ know?”

Xandra froze. “Promise me that you won’t tell Dmitri.”

“...Alright?”

“I know him. From further along down the timeline. _His_ timeline.”

“That’s not okay. You could wreck something.”

Xandra rolled her eyes. “I’m not _stupid_ , time agent. I went forward a hundred years or so and checked – this is his two years.”

“What?”

“The only reason I know Jack – who happens to be Dmitri-from-the-future – is that the Time Agency wiped two years from his memory. After last time, I got Doc to take us ahead a hundred years or so and we checked the Agency’s archives. These are those two years. I found out that his memories will be erased because he runs into so much possibly timeline-screwing-up stuff, most especially people and things from his future (myself included), in these two years. Jack doesn’t remember this happening, but it’s actually the reason he met Doc,” explained Xandra.

“...wow,” Kieran responded. “Don’t worry, I won’t breathe a word of it to Dmitri.”

She kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks, Buttercup.”

“What is Kieran not telling me?” Dmitri asked from the doorway.

“Nothing, love,” answered Xandra. “I’m getting picked up tomorrow morning.”

Dmitri smiled. “Good to know.”

The next morning, while Kieran was making breakfast, he heard a strange metallic grinding sound outside. It was followed by a faint “ _Damn it,”_ from Dmitri’s room. “ _KIERAN! DISTRACT HIM!”_

The doorbell rang. “Who’s there?” Kieran asked.

“I’m the Doctor,” a man’s voice replied. “Alex said that I should come get her here?”

“Right,” said Kieran. He let this ‘Doctor’ person in. “You know, Alex is a pretty antiquated nickname. She calls herself Xandra ‘round here.”

“Does she now?” replied the Doctor. “How very temporally appropriate.”

“You two aren’t from around now, are you?” inquired Kieran.

“I’m from all over,” the Doctor answered. “And Allie was born a long time ago.”

Kieran nodded. “I thought so. Sometimes she talks so... _21 st century_, you know? She tries, but sometimes it sounds kind of funny.”

Xandra stepped out of Dmitri’s room, then, wearing the same clothes as yesterday because she hadn’t planned ahead. “I wasn’t expecting you ‘till later, Doc.”

The Doctor took in her slightly dishevelled appearance. “No kidding.”

“Let’s go, then,” Xandra said. She started toward the door.

“What, no good-bye?” asked Dmitri, stepping out of his room.

The Doctor looked stunned. Xandra’s eyes widened. “Er, right.” She kissed Dmitri and then gave Kieran a quick hug. “’Bye, boys.”

\--

“We can be done telling stories now,” Alex declares, looking mildly uncomfortable.

“Right, don’t we have work to do?” agrees Clara. Alex gives her a grateful look.

They leave the Hub and scatter again, back to their search. The two Time Agents are now working with them, as they had all been looking for the same alien.

It was Kieran, Alex, and Clara who found it.

Or rather, it found them.

“Who the hell are you?” he says. “Why are you all following me?”

“You’re out of your time and place,” Alex answers. “We want to help you.”

“Are you kidding?” he replies. “This is _way_ better than 46 th century Gaarlon IV!”

Alex takes a step toward him. “Didn’t you have a family or something?”

Behind her, Clara quietly calls the others on her borrowed headset.

“Don’t come any closer,” he tells her, holding up a human-made gun. “I’m armed.”

“I just want to _help_ ,” Alex says calmly. She takes another careful step forward.

There are approaching footsteps as Jack, Dmitri, and the Doctor round the corner and then Caleb and Maria approach from the opposite direction.

A gunshot rings out.

Alex sees the alien pull the trigger, but all she has time to do is gasp.

She crumples.

“Alex!”

_TO BE CONTINUED... flashes across the screen._

_Credits roll._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, one more thing!  
> I want to explain something about Alex's eyes. I'm not going to explain WHY she can't see sometimes, that's a question for a later episode/chapter, but I do want to explain the nature of it. Originally (in the other version of events involving her), there was no way to tell if she could see or not - the boys/the Torchwood team just kind of had to take her word. When I decided to write it in the style of an episode, I realized that it would be confusing that way in an actual TV show. So for visual reasons, I changed the way I wrote it.


	2. Bold New Horizons

_Previously..._

The 9th Doctor tells Rose Tyler, “What’s life? A quirk of matter. Nature’s way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene.”

Alex reaches out to the TARDIS and whispers, “Hello, Tara.”

“Everyone in Cardiff _knows_ about Torchwood,” Alex reminds Maria. “Some secret.”

“How’d Allie end up working for Torchwood, Jack?” asks the Doctor.

Jack and Dmitri stare at each other.

The Gaarnek pulls the trigger of a human-made handgun and Alex collapses.

\--

They’re in the Hub. Everyone but Caleb is gathered in autopsy around Alex. There is a cloud of glowing golden particles around the bullet wound in her chest. Then the nanogenes fly back into their jar.

For a moment, nothing else happens.

“It didn’t work,” Maria says quietly.

Alex takes a gasping breath and sits up. She glares at Jack. “If this happens _one more time_ , Jack Harkness, I will murder you slowly.”

Caleb sticks his head into the room when he hears Alex’s voice. “I’ve got the thing locked up in the cells downstairs.”

“Maria, did you check my pulse at the scene? Did it see you tell the others I was dead?” Alex asks.

Maria, somewhat stunned, nods.

“Thank Hermes. And while we’re at it, thank Apollo for you, too,” says Alex. She looks back at Jack. “I get to question it, then.”

“Well, you’re always _around_ for questioning,” Jack begins.

“I’m not just standing in the back of the room this time,” Alex declares. “That moron decided he had the right to murder me – I think I should get to be the one to talk to him. And after all, it’s my _job_.”

“Fine,” Jack responds.

Alex touches the bloody hole in her shirt over her heart. “I think I’ll change my clothes first.”

_Cuts to opening theme._

\--

Alex walks into the Torchwood holding cell that contains the orange-skinned Gaarnek.  She’s now wearing one of Jack’s spare button-downs, and it’s comically large on her.

The Gaarnek gasps.

“I know I look ridiculous. But I was out of back-up shirts, and my other option was borrowing a dress from Clara. I’m not a dress person,” Alex says.

“But – but... you were _dead_ ,” it replies.

The smile leaves Alex’s face instantly. “Funny how that happens, hmm?” She crossed the room. “I happen to be a _very_ lucky person, and am in fact not dead anymore.”

“That’s impossible,” it says.

“Impossible like bringing back old injuries? Or having two of the same man in one place? Or a blue box that’s bigger on the inside and travels through time and space?” She crosses the room so she’s standing directly in front of it. “We’re calling this an interview, more or less, but it really isn’t. I don’t have any questions for you. None of them –“ she gestures toward the door, where she knows the others are watching, “really do either. I’m here to give you your options. My friend out there – the one in the bowtie – has offered you a ride back home. Just give ‘im your time and place and get the hell off my planet. _Or_ you can stay and live by our laws. Which, considering you’ve already broken a biggie, would probably end with execution.” She giggles. “And I made Jack _swear_ that I’d get to do it.”

“I can’t go _back_ ,” it replies. “I was in jail when I got picked up by the Rift. You’d be sending me right back – and I’ll probably get a worse sentence for escaping!”

“Perfect,” says Alex. She crosses back toward the door, through the glass window of which she makes eye contact with the Doctor.

“I don’t want to be killed, though,” it says.

“Then go back to where you’re from,” responds Alex. When she turns around, she doesn’t meet the Gaarnek’s eyes. “If you stay here, you’re as good as dead. If you hadn’t attacked an unarmed Torchwood operative, that mightn’t be the case.”

“...you were unarmed?” it asks hesitantly.

She nods. “I don’t carry a weapon. I’m a talker, me. My job is to _negotiate_ with the aliens that end up ‘round here. I try to find a non-killing-related solution to things. Admittedly, it obviously doesn’t always work, but I _try,_ because that’s what I was taught to do.” She glances over her shoulder at the Doctor again.

“I didn’t know,” it tells her.

“You can’t un-shoot me now,” Alex answers. “It’s a little late for regret.” She sighs. “Here’s the deal. You walk out that door and onto the TARDIS, where you’ll tell the Doctor where you want to go. Then you’ll stay in your room until you get there. Go ahead and lie about which planet in the system you’re from, frankly I don’t care. Just _get the hell off my planet.”_

“What?”

“As much as the opportunity to be killed by your own murder victim is just **not** something that comes up when you aren’t dealing with Torchwood, and as much as I’d just _love_ to kill you, we both know you’d pick the living-related alternative anyway. And like I said, I’m a talker,” says Alex. She walks to the door. “Take me up on this offer before I change my mind.”

\--

Clara, the Doctor, Jack, Dmitri, Kieran, and Alex stand in the TARDIS’s console room. Alex has changed into a blue t-shirt that reads ‘THE ANGELS HAVE THE PHONE BOX’ that she’d found in her old room.

“...And I’m just going to forget? _Everything?_ ” Dmitri asks.

“Just these two years,” Jack responds.

“They were a great two years, though,” says Dmitri.

Jack shrugs. “I wouldn’t know. I’ll tell you, though, what comes after is worth it.”

Dmitri looks around. His eyes fall on Alex. She nods encouragingly and puts an arm around Jack. “Just think – 2000-some years from now, I’ll be right here.”

“Two _thousand-_ “ repeats Dmitri.

“Don’t worry about that,” interrupts Kieran. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, let’s go with that,” Jack says.

Alex whacks him with her free hand. “ _Now_ you’re risking screwing up the timeline.”

“Yes, Jack, don’t scare him off,” scolds the Doctor.

“It’s a little late for that now,” Clara points out, nodding to Jack.

“We’ll be going now, then,” Kieran says.

Alex catches his arm as he walks away. “If they don’t wipe your memory, too, you’ll come visit. _Won’t you, Buttercup?_ ” Her tone leaves no room for argument.

Kieran nods. “Of course, Sweetheart.”

She presses her lips briefly to his cheek. “I’ll be seeing you, Buttercup.”

“Don’t I get a good-bye, too?” Dmitri asks.

Alex glances momentarily at Jack before kissing Dmitri. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Dmitri.” Her eyes flick over to Jack again. “Now go grow up. You’re pretty great and all, but I can’t live without my big brother.”

The Time Agents walk out of the TARDIS.

The sky has darkened – it’s getting late.

“Come on, Allie,” Jack says. “We should go home, too. You’ve barely slept in days.”

He starts toward the doors after his past self and partner, but Alex hesitates. Instead, she turns to the Doctor. “Doc, can I sleep here tonight?”

The Doctor nods. “Of course. We’re not leaving ‘till morning.”

Alex looks back at Jack, who has resumed his walk to the door.

“Oh, Jack, don’t be like that,” Alex pleads, following him.

“It’s okay, I understand,” says Jack. He doesn’t stop walking.

“Jack, it’s nothing to do with you! I just –“

Jack’s out the door by now. Alex stops in the doorway. “- haven’t been home in a while,” she finishes quietly, not bothering to shout after him.

“But it _is_ about him, isn’t it?” asks Clara once Alex has walked back to the centre of the room.

“Of _course_ it’s about him,” Alex answers. “But if it were only a question of not wanting to share sleeping space with the man who my just-barely-ex timey-wimey boyfriend will grow up to be, I’d go sleep on Caleb’s sofa bed, like I usually do.” She shakes her head. “It’s not _just_ about him.” She looks around. “The TARDIS is my home, even though she’s changed a bit since I was last here. She’s my mentor and my confidant and my friend and we’re so rarely together that I’d like to take full advantage of it.”

Clara nods. “I understand, I think.”

Alex chuckles. “Well, if you don’t mind, I’ll be off to find my room. Good night, Clara.”

Without a word to the Doctor, she climbs the stairs and starts wandering down the hall.

\--

Alex is laying on a bed in a room that is very clearly hers – the walls are decorated with photos of her, Jack, and the Doctor all over space-time and in the corner is everything she could need to design and print t-shirts (including a stack of plain ones in a variety of colours). She’s changed into an oversized black Torchwood t-shirt and a pair of blue pyjama pants.

 _“You’ve been staring at the ceiling for an hour and a half now,”_ a female voice informs her.

 _“Yes, Tara, I’m aware,”_ Alex responds, although her mouth doesn’t move.

 _“He’s still in the Console Room,”_ the TARDIS replies. “ _You could just –“_

 _“I know, I know,”_ says Alex, still not moving her mouth. She rolls off of the bed and walks to the door. “How long’s it been since he slept?” she asks aloud.

 _“At least a week. He could do with a rest,”_ answers the TARDIS helpfully.

“Thanks,” Alex says.

She walks down the hall and into the console room.

“Allie! You’re up late,” says the Doctor. He’s sitting in the repair sling under the floor.

Alex walks down the second set of stairs so that they’re on the same level. “Tara says you haven’t slept in a while.”

“I, uh... I guess I haven’t,” replies the Doctor.

Alex holds out a hand. “Come on.”

“I’m in the middle of something!” the Doctor whines.

“What are you, _ten?”_ replies Alex. “You need rest. And besides, _I_ can’t sleep well on my own.”

“So this is all a ploy to get some company, then?” the Doctor says.

Alex chuckles. “About 50% that, yeah.” She grabs the Doctor’s hands and pulls him to a standing position. “50% the other thing, too, though. C’mon, I’m tired.”

_The scene cuts to the two of them in Alex’s room. The Doctor has changed into a pair of striped pyjamas._

“You sure you’re okay about this whole Dmitri thing?” asks the Doctor hesitantly.

“If it was, Jack would be here,” Alex answers easily.

The Doctor nods silently and pulls her close.

Within moments, Alex is (at least apparently) asleep.

\--

Caleb and Alex are play fighting in the Hub.

Maria is supervising (and by ‘go supervise’, Jack had in fact meant ‘babysit – if they get hurt, it’s on you’).

Clara is watching amusedly.

Jack and the Doctor are talking in Jack’s office.

One of the monitors shows a flash followed by the materialization of two people in the plaza above them.

Within minutes, Alex, Caleb, Maria, Clara, Jack and the Doctor find themselves face-to-face with Dmitri’s former partner.

“Hey Buttercup!” Alex greets. She looks him up and down. “How long’s it been for you, love? You changed your hair.”

“It’s Atomic Tangerine, thanks for noticing, Sweetheart,” replies Kieran. “It’s been about six months.”

“So what brings you back to Cardiff?” Caleb asks.

“All of the 4th year Archaeology students from Luna University get a trip to one of the time periods they study with a Time Agent escort,” Kieran answers.

The Doctor noticed who Kieran had brought along with, then. “River?”

River grinned. “Hello, Sweetie.”

“I don’t think we’ve met,” Alex says. She flicks her black-and-blue hair out of her face, holding her hand out to River. “I’m Tara Harkness, and you are...?”

“River Song,” replies River, shaking Alex’s hand.

“Charmed, I’m sure,” says Alex flirtatiously.

River grins. The Doctor looks scandalized. “River! You’re _married_! Unless that hasn’t happened yet, in which case you _will be married!_ ”

River laughs. Alex takes a step back, holding her hands up. “I wasn’t gonna _do_ anything.”

They all stare at each other for a moment. Caleb breaks first, doubling over laughing. “I- I can’t, this is ridiculous.”

Alex joins in. When she recovers, she looks at a very confused River Song with a huge grin on her face. “Sorry, love, you’ve gotten caught up in the middle of a bet between me and Jack. Let’s start over, shall we? I’m Tara, former Companion and friend of Kieran’s. These are Caleb, Maria, and Jack.”

“And what was the bet?” asks River curiously.

“I bet Jack that his whole charm thing was all in the delivery and that his stupid 51st Century Pheromones had nothing to do with it,” Alex answers. “I won. Jack’s got to do all of the shopping for three weeks. It was totally worth it, too, even though it’s _so_ not my style.”

River and the Doctor laugh, and Jack looks disappointed.

Kieran stares at the Doctor and Clara for a moment. “How long’s it been for you, Sweetheart?” he asks Alex.

“Less than a day,” she answers. “I slept in the TARDIS last night.”

Kieran nods sympathetically. “When Dmitri went rogue, I moved apartments.”

“Who wants to give me a tour of 21st century Cardiff, then?” asks River, looking at the Doctor. He raises his hand, grinning. “Let’s go then, Sweetie.” She takes his arm and they walk away.

Jack watches them leave, a looking wistful and perhaps a little jealous.

Maria grabs Caleb by the sleeve and starts pulling him back to the invisible lift. “Come on, Blondie, _someone’s_ got to do some actual work today.”

“But Maria –“ replies Caleb. She whacks him on the back of the head and he goes back down to the Hub quietly.

Alex laughs. “Have fun working, idiot!”

Jack shoots her a look. “You should be working, too, young lady.”

“Did you just ‘young lady’ me, Jack?” Alex says. “I’m _appalled_ that you would use such language in front of our guests!”

Kieran, Clara, and Jack just stare at her.

“How do you feel about lunch?” asks Alex, ignoring the stares.

“Sounds good right about now,” Kieran replies.

“Do you know of any good restaurants?” Clara inquires.

Alex rolls her eyes. “Of course we do. It’s not like we never leave the Hub or anything.”

It’s lost on Kieran and Clara, but Jack laughs.

The four of them walk away, presumably to a restaurant.

_\--_

The TARDIS’s door opens. The Gaarnek pokes its head out and looks around, then makes a run for it.

Less than a minute later, it falls. There’s a knife in its back. Blood pools on the pavement.

Alex is standing about 20 feet away. Her arm falls to her side as Jack, Kieran, and Clara catch up to her.

“What –“ Jack begins.

“No second chances,” Alex declares, not looking at him.

“Impressive throw, Xandra,” comments Kieran.

Clara just stares.

Alex taps her commlink. “Caleb, Maria, would you do me a favour and come up here and help us out? People are going to start noticing if we leave a dead alien in the middle of the walkway.”

\--

Maria, Clara, and Kieran are all hiding near Jack’s office door, trying to listen in.

“What else is there to say, Jack?” Alex asks, spinning around in his office chair. “We gave him a chance, he tried to run. I said I’d kill him if he made that choice. I wouldn’t _dare_ go back on my word.”

“You’re not a _killer_ , Allie,” Jack replies, putting his hands down on the arms of the chair to stop her.

She glares up at him. “I am, though.”

Jack doesn’t seem to have a response to this. He’s spared the trouble of coming up with one by the Doctor and River walking in (accompanied by the sounds of the others scrambling away).

“What are you two talking about?” asks the Doctor brightly.

“Murder,” the not-Harknesses respond in unison.

“Why?” the Doctor inquires, suddenly almost angry.

At the same time, River says, “Whose?”

“Jack’s,” Alex answers darkly, earning her a concerned look from River. Jack takes a half-step closer to her.

“Alex killed our orange-skinned friend,” Jack informs the Doctor.

“ _Allie_ ,” says the Doctor.

“It wasn’t cold-blooded murder, Doc,” replies Alex. “He tried to run off, and I’m not big on letting killers go free.” She glances up at Jack. “Well...”

River looks confused and glances back and forth between the other three. “I’m missing something here.”

“I think you are,” agrees Alex.

\--

Alex, Jack, and the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and right into a warzone.

That’s nearly the whole story in a nutshell right there – well, that and the fact that they didn’t walk right back in and _leave_.

They stayed and tried to figure out what was going on. The Doctor went back into the TARDIS and discovered that they’d landed themselves right at the end of that country’s rather bloody civil war.

Instead of taking this is their cue to _get the hell out of there_ (like any reasonably people would), they joined the resistance.

The Doctor tried to become a voice of reason and attempted to put an end to the bloodshed.

On the other hand, Alex and Jack _contributed_. They fought side-by-side with the rebels, more than holding their own in battle.

The Doctor didn’t like it, but he accepted it for the time being. He continued to try to convince both the rebels and the corrupt government they were fighting that there were solutions _other_ than killing almost a third of the population, but they didn’t seem to buy it.

Two weeks. They were there for two weeks. Jack died 67 times.  Alex killed almost twice that many enemy soldiers. The Doctor failed to convince half as many dignitaries and rebel leaders to stop their fighting.

After they left, they didn’t talk about it.

That didn’t mean it didn’t change them.

Before that trip, Alex had never seen war.

She left a soldier.

Before that trip, Jack had still (deep down) believed the Doctor could do almost anything.

He left disillusioned.

Before that trip, the Doctor had hoped he’d spare Alex a fate like Rose’s or Martha’s.

He left feeling like a failure (again).

Two weeks.

\--

When they finish telling the story, Jack, Alex, and the Doctor don’t look at each other.

“I’m going to go... work or something,” Alex says, standing up. She walks out the door and right past Kieran, Clara, and Maria.

Caleb is lurking down in the archives. Alex joins him.

“You okay, Tar?” he asks. His usual antagonistic attitude is gone, replaced by genuine concern.

She shrugs. “I’ve had better weeks.”

Before he can say anything else, Clara walks down the stairs.

“Is it true?” she asks hesitantly.

Alex nods. “Being a ‘Child of Time’ as we were once collectively called kind of sets you up to be a soldier. It’s ironic, because of course _he’s a pacifist_ (or tries to be), but there you go.”

“I’m not-“

“You will be, though. There’s a precedent.” Alex sighs. “He tries so hard to prevent it, but it happens anyway. I mean, Rose killed all the Daleks, Martha walked the earth and then joined UNIT, I – well, you heard that story, Donna... we don’t really talk about what happened to her. Suffice it to say that she and Duplicate-Doctor saved the world and killed all the Daleks _again_. Jack fought in both World Wars. Rory’s a Roman Centurion who’s married to a woman whose combat achievements can’t really be summarized in this format. And that’s just the Companions after _the Doctor_ killed all of the Daleks. The first time. Are you sensing a pattern here, ‘cause I am.”

“Wait a minute, I’ve _met_ Daleks,” replies Clara.

Alex nods. “That’s my point. It wasn’t my original point, but the point kind of evolved as I kept talking. They’re like extraterrestrial cockroaches.” She shakes her head. “Anyway, you’ll be a soldier someday. We all are. And if you survive, you can come to tea with the Ponds and me every other Thursday.”

“’If’?”

“If. There’s no guarantees here, beautiful.”

“There are,” corrects Caleb. “Subject-verb agreement, Tara.”

Alex whacks him with a piece of space junk off of the shelf.

“Feel any better?” he asks, smiling.

Alex nods. “Thanks, moron.”

\--

They all stand outside the TARDIS.

“It was nice to meet you, Doctor,” says Maria.

“Same to you, Maria,” he replies.

Kieran and Caleb stare awkwardly at each other.

“As soon as you get back to Earth, call,” Alex orders Clara.

“Wouldn’t dream of doing anything else,” Clara replies with a giggle.

Kieran hugs Alex and she gives him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll visit again soon,” he promises. “Without an archaeologist next time.”

“I’d like that,” Alex says.

“Good-bye, Sweetie,” says River.

The Doctor nods to her. “Until next time.”

With that, she and Kieran were gone.

“Doctor,” says Jack.

“Jack,” replies the Doctor, turning his full attention to his old friend.

“Just once, I’d like to have you visit on a day when something _didn’t_ go terribly wrong,” Jack tells him.

“If I told you that were a possibility, I’d be lying,” the Doctor answers.

Jack smiles. “Don’t wait so long to visit next time.”

“I’ll do what I can,” says the Doctor.

There’s a moment’s pause before the Doctor pulls Jack into a tight hug.

“Good-bye, Captain Harkness,” he says when he releases Jack.

Jack snaps to attention and salutes.

The Doctor turns to Alex, but she holds a hand up. “You’re last.” She throws her arms out and hugs the TARDIS. “Take care of him, Tara. ...Yes, I know you always do.” Then she walks over to the Doctor, pulls him down so that they’re eye-to-eye, and kisses him on the cheek. “Come back safe.”

“I will, Allie,” he promises quietly.”You know, you and Jack could –“

“Doc, no,” Alex says. “We told you earlier. We love you, but... we’ve got lives here. Can’t just pick up and leave.”

“Time machine,” the Doctor reminds her.

“You've got lousy aim,” Alex replies. “Good-bye, love. We’ll be seeing you.”

The Doctor and Clara walk into the TARDIS and close the doors. On the monitor on the console, they see Alex, Jack, Caleb, and Maria waving at them.

“We’ll see them again, won’t we?” asks Clara.

“Of course we will! I promised,” replies the Doctor.

“Rule number one is that the Doctor lies,” Clara reminds him.

“Well, this time I didn’t,” he assures her.

The TARDIS begins to dematerialize.

“Where to next?” he asks.

\--

The Torchwood team watch the TARDIS until it’s completely gone before walking back to the Hub.

Jack glances over his shoulder at where at had been standing as they walk away, simultaneously pulling Alex closer to him. He puts an arm around her shoulders and she puts hers around his waist, leaning closer to him.

_Cuts to end credits._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, we launch into Torchwood!


End file.
